The science is clear, climate change is a severe problem that will affect everyone. Nebraska must do it's part to address climate change, and aiming to meet a mere 10 percent of our energy needs through renewable sources is not going to be enough to solve the problem. Ignoring this problem is simply irresponsible, and we demand that our leaders take action.

Reducing greenhouse gas pollution from power plants to mitigate the disastrous impacts of climate change is by far EPA's most urgent matter. Climate change-denying extremists and fossil fuel propagandists are willing to threaten our survival for profit.

Net metering is a program that allows Nevadans who install solar panels on their roof to get full, fair credit on their utility bills for the excess clean energy they send back to the grid. It has been a big success, leading to more and more Nevada homes, schools and businesses putting the state's plentiful sunshine to work to meet their own power needs.
But NV Energy -- the biggest utility in Nevada -- views this kind of customer energy choice as a threat to their old way of doing business. The utility is now working behind the scenes to add unfair fees that would make it harder for Nevadans to invest in solar power.
Every Nevadan has the right to produce and use his or her own power from the sun and we should be able to do so without being charged unfair fees.
Now is an especially important time to speak up, since the Nevada Public Utilities Commission is taking comment in August on whether to propose harmful changes to net metering. We plan to deliver the petition in person at a PUC public comment session on August 19. In the next few months, the PUC will make recommendations on the future of our net metering program to the legislature, so we need to speak out in support of solar power now.
If you live in Nevada, sign the petition below to urge state leaders to stand strong for innovation, progress and customer choice by defending our solar rights.

Our electric utility, SDG&E, plans to replace the shut down San Onofre nuclear power plant with massive amounts of new gas power – through an insider deal that doesn’t allow clean energy options to compete. This rush for more fossil power would come at a major cost to energy customers, public health and our climate. Help us urge state regulators to reject this reckless plan and send a clear message to all the utilities that California is committed to clean energy.
We can meet California’s energy needs reliably and affordably with clean energy, yet SDG&E is pushing a proposal that would lock in huge amounts of unnecessary, expensive and polluting fossil power for years to come.
This natural gas bonanza carries a big price tag for our climate. We've already seen an increase in climate pollution from natural gas generation in the wake of San Onofre closing. Permanently increasing our dependence on fossil power would put California even father behind on our carbon reduction and clean energy targets.
Sign the petition to stop this dirty energy proposal in its tracks, and send a clear message to all California utilities that energy consumers demand clean affordable energy options.

The escalating tensions between Ukraine and Russia should not be used as an excuse for increased liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports.
Gas exports cannot help the current situation in Ukraine, because it would take years for our export facilities to be able to process the volumes of gas proposed for overseas sales. And S. 2083 and H.R. 6 would fast track exports of U.S. LNG to 158 World Trade Organization member countries, not just Ukraine.
Increasing U.S. oil and gas exports to other nations will only accelerate fracking at home, transforming rural and impoverished communities into sacrifice zones and endangering public health, natural resources and local economies.
The oil and gas industry claims that fracking for gas can lead to energy independence, but that is simply not the case, especially if we're exporting that resource abroad.
Ultimately, approving and building infrastructure is a lengthy, expensive process, and the limited oil and gas reserves available under U.S. soil will not support the money and energy needed to ship it overseas. Instead, we should invest in renewable energy.

If we do not begin to take immediate and direct action against fossil fuel and rare Earth mining companies who are continually investing our money into the destruction and exploitation of our natural world and its' resources, we will continue to contribute a further 2ppm of CO2 to our atmosphere per annum, to the already 400ppm of atmospheric CO2 in the atmosphere.
All over the world people are experiencing the impact of climate change, and these impacts are gradually worsening. Our atmosphere will continue to warm at an exponential rate as emissions of greenhouse gases increase.
The biodiversity of our planet is already undergoing numerous changes in composition and environmental pressure due to human intervention and exploitation, which is causing a continuous rate of decline in global biodiversity.
Newcastle University are not alone in their investment in fossil fuels. This is a global phenomenon that must be brought to heed so that the safety of our planet and our species can be preserved for future generations.
Divestment is but scratching the surface of what we can do for our planet, and without Universities who promote Sustainable development making this leap - we will not make the greatest leap of all human innovation - the mastery of cleaner, more renewable energy sources.

Climate change is a very real problem facing our world, and our Ohio community is experiencing the devastating backlash of excess CO2 emissions. These shifts in high levels of CO2 are having a real effect on weather patterns resulting in an increase in the probability for droughts, floods, excessive snowfall, extreme cold and hot temperatures and many other climate-related problems. Even the chemistry of the air we breathe is changing with increased air pollution causing four cities in Ohio to be ranked among the 20 most soot-polluted in the country! The damage from climate change has repercussions that are felt worldwide, especially here in the Ohio farmer's community. There is an overwhelming 97% consensus on the science in the global scientific community. We need to take meaningful action to reduce carbon emissions as quickly as possible. With your help Congressman Pat Tiberi, we must put Ohio on the path to a better future for all our citizens.

We, the people of Oregon, recognize that we face a climate crisis that threatens the well-being of the people and nature of the state we love. The decisions we make today will dictate the quality of our lives together and those of generations to come.
Divestment will help to protect not only a safe future for our children and grandchildren, but also our state’s financial portfolio.
Carbon pricing will encourage energy efficiency in transportation, businesses and homes.
From the Bottle Bill and Land Use Planning to Public Beach Access and the Eight-Hour Work Day, Oregon has been a national leader. We call on Oregon to lead once again on this critical issue. It’s good for the climate, it’s good for the economy, it’s good for our families.

There is now little to no chance of maintaining the global mean surface temperature at or below 2◦C. The only way to avoid dangerous man-made interference with the climate system is to stop burning fossil fuels and reduce our carbon emissions by 80% by 2030. Climate scientists say we have years, not decades, to reduce our carbon emissions before it’s too late to prevent ‘extremely dangerous’ climate change.
Currently we are heading for a global temperature increase of 4°C by the end of this century. This is because we are still pumping greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas), into the atmosphere. New efforts are underway to expand fossil fuel extraction by drilling into the Arctic region, extracting oil from tar sands, and using hydraulic fracking techniques to extract natural gas and oil from shale formations.
The increased concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is causing the Earth to store heat instead of releasing the heat energy to space, and as a consequence altering the global climate. The safe level of atmospheric carbon dioxide is no more than 350 parts per million (ppm) if we are to preserve a planet similar to which life on Earth is adapted. In 2013, the global concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere passed the level of 400 ppm. The impacts associated with a rise in global mean surface temperature of 2◦C (450 ppm) represents the threshold between ‘dangerous’ and ‘extremely dangerous’ climate change. This means we can except to see rising sea levels, shrinking sea ice in Greenland and Antarctic, and more severe and frequent climate impacts like heavier rainfall, extreme flooding, heatwaves, storms and droughts.
The EU is responsible for 11% of global greenhouse gas emissions. The EU must take leadership and responsibility for the present dangerous situation. In January 2014, the European Commission announced their 2030 climate and energy plans. The European Commission’s proposal calls for greenhouse gas emissions to be cut by 40% by 2030. The Commission did not set binding targets for increasing renewable energies or for reducing energy use. The Commission’s climate proposal is irresponsible, and inconsistent with scientific evidence-based climate data analyses. Based on climate science, carbon emissions must be reduced by at least 80% by 2030, and there must be binding targets to reduce energy use by 50% and increase the share of renewables to 45%. European energy and environment ministers will begin discussions on 20-21 March, and the EU is expected to agree the 2030 climate and energy targets by the end of this year. The EU’s 2030 climate and energy plans will set the tone for negotiations (Paris COP summit) on global efforts to rein in carbon emissions next year, and hence the direction of future climate impacts.
Tell the EU to set an equitable and science-based carbon emissions reduction target of 80% by 2030. Anything less will leave future generations a legacy of “devastating impacts”.
Sources:
Letter to President Barroso on 2030 Decarbonisation targets from Dr Kevin Anderson, Professor of Energy and Climate Change, Deputy Director of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change, University of Manchester: http://kevinanderson.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Letter-pdf-to-President-Barroso-on-2030-decarbonisation-Dec-2013.pdf
Anderson K, Bow A (2010) Beyond ‘dangerous’ climate change: emission scenarios for a new world. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A 2011 369, doi: 10.1098/rsta.2010.0290
Hansen J, Kharecha P, Sato M, Masson-Delmotte V, Ackerman F, et al. (2013) Assessing ‘‘Dangerous Climate Change’’: Required Reduction of Carbon Emissions to Protect Young People, Future Generations and Nature. PLoS ONE 8(12): e81648. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0081648
Betts R, Collins M, Hemming D.L., Jones C.D., Lowe J. A, and Sanderson M.G. When could global warming reach 4°C? Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A (2011) 369, 67–84 doi:10.1098/rsta.2010.0292
IPCC, 2013: Summary for Policymakers. In: Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Stocker, T.F., D. Qin, G.-K. Plattner, M. Tignor, S. K. Allen, J. Boschung, A. Nauels, Y. Xia, V. Bex and P.M. Midgley (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA.
According to 2012 research by Fraunhofer ISI for the German Environment Ministry, the EU could reduce its energy consumption by 50% by 2030 compared to 2005 levels. Concrete Paths of the European Union to the 2°C Scenario: Achieving the Climate Protection Targets of the EU by 2050 through Structural Change, Energy Savings and Energy Efficiency Technologies.

There doesn’t seem to be a week go by now where there is not another significant weather or climate event. Whether its severe flooding, the warmest month or year on record, severe storms, or droughts. There is little doubt that this is caused by climate change. And, there is little doubt that increased CO2 emissions play a significant role.
In the UK, buildings account for around 43% of the national carbon emissions. The urgency of addressing climate change, and general lack of awareness is staggering. UK houses are some of the worst in the developed world. It is dreadful to watch the heat (and CO2) haemorrhaging through doors, windows, walls and roofs. And power stations chocking the atmosphere trying to keep up. It is shocking that the technology exists to almost eliminate this waste, but the UK is decades behind much of the world in using this technology.
From personal experience, we know that it is difficult to gain support for building sustainable buildings (despite central government intentions). Please see www.dsewell.co.uk for our personal challenge on making a difference.
There is still time. But the next few years are critical. Awareness needs to increase and policies need to be enforced. If we miss our chance the future could be very grim indeed. It feels deeply unethical to do nothing!